Off-duty deputies rescue man in immersed vehicle

Two off-duty deputies found an overturned car on Hockley Cut-Off Road in Katy on their way home. They were able to rescue a man who was stuck inside the car. (Photo via Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Constable's Office)

KATY, Texas - Two off-duty deputies helped save a man from his vehicle that was submerged in a ditch Tuesday.

Precinct 3 Lieutenant Shawn Sayers and Deputy Phil Crowell were driving home on the 5500 block of Katy Hockley Cut-off Road when they saw an overturned car that was partially underwater from severe weather.

A local business owner told the officers that the car had been in the ditch for an extended period. Sayers checked the car and found a man who was trapped and struggling to breathe with his face, mouth and nose barely above the waterline.

Sayers went underwater and cut the man's seat belt and was able to get the man out of the vehicle.

Sayers and Crowell stayed at the scene until the patient was transported to the hospital by the Katy Fire Department. The Harris County Sheriff's Office investigated the incident.

The man in the car has not been identified, and his current condition is unknown.

"It is my belief that Lt. Sayers truly saved this patient's life from the rising water or shifting vehicle which would have ultimately resulted in a drowning victim," Katy Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Kenneth Redding said.

Copyright 2014 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.